Empty promises of pretty roads leave residents of Tinsbury fuming
almost 4 years in Jamaica Observer
THEY say behind every dark cloud is a silver lining, but though residents of Tinsbury, St Mary, experienced a silver lining last Friday in the form of a back-to-school treat and care packages for the elderly, the dark clouds of poor roads, irregular water supply, and lack of economic opportunities still linger.The treat, organised by Icons of Annotto Bay, a voluntary organisation led by Wyatt "Spur" Williams and his wife Odette Smith-Williams, saw close to 20 community members including children and the elderly being treated to lunch, school supplies, and care packages.The husband and wife team, who started their outreach in 2018, remain committed to positively impacting lives of people in Annotto Bay and its surrounding communities, including Tinsbury."I live in New York City [NYC] and I'm a teacher. In NYC the young black men are always at odds with the cops. One day I was walking down the street and saw a sign from the NYCPD [New York City Police Department] where they were hosting a day of sporting activities with the young kids in the community and I said to my husband maybe we could do something like that in Annotto Bay, and we came up with the idea for six-a-side night football. That's how we got started," Smith-Williams said.She added: "With health we focus on the elderly and the kids. With the elderly we do home visits and the care packages. For the kids we do the back-to-school medical. In terms of sports, we would provide resources to the schools - those involved in soccer. To cater to education we provide resources like books, pencils, pens and the various resources that schools need. As a team we sit and discuss innovative ways in which we can really reach out to citizens in Annotto Bay and its environs," Smith-Williams said.But the residents, though thankful for the items, voiced their frustrations with the state of the roads, lack of water, and low economic activity in the community."They charge up to $150 from Annotto Bay to the square or what we call 41. Then another $150 to come up the road to our house because of how bad the road conditions are. Sometimes we nuh have the $300 so I have to walk up, which is about a two mile walk," 80-year-old Viola Roberts said."Pain woulda kill mi ina the knee go up ina the spine. Sometimes the road patch patch but as rain fall it wash off. The road come in like river when it rains. Sometimes taxis don't even want to come up. But when mi nuh have it mi have to walk."Adassa Roberts, 78, also shared that the conditions of the road have caused her to spend more money when she goes to the nearby Annotto Bay."With load is $1,000, without load is $300 to come up. I wouldn't mind see the road fix, for now is pure bush bush we in," she said.Fellow resident Austin Merchant said the last time he remembers the road being properly fixed was 1980, and since then it has never been maintained."It is just political promises about having road pretty like money and nothing," he said.Merchant also pointed out that the water system is bad, explaining that a catchment system exists in the middle of the river which results in muddy water whenever the supply comes through the pipes."There is no cover on it so when it rains it is muddy. When it's not raining it's messy as it's open to the elements," he said.Regarding the economic situation, Merchant said he was disheartened to see the once-thriving farming community now surviving off quick crops. He said the condition of the road is a major factor in the economic downgrade of the community."You use to have three truckloads of carrots leaving here weekly to go to food establishments. Not even one going now. All the farm roads are bad, not even donkey can ride on it. No one wants to come up here," said Merchant.In the meantime, 34-year-old Dwyane Brown told the Jamaica Observer that, while the road needs to be fixed, the community needs greater cohesion to solve many of its problems."If we have a group that can truly represent the voices of the people we would get far more done. After the road is fixed, then what next? We need employment, we need water, we need a proper irrigation system for those in farming. People here are interested in goat rearing but many don't know where to turn and that's where we need to come together and think self-empowerment," Brown said.